Printer Repair

MAY 2005, VOL. 14, NUMBER 4

LEARN PRINTER REPAIR

ONLINE

HP LASERJET 4200/4300 TRAINING COURSE RELEASED

INSIDE THIS ISSUE • Cleaning Hewlett-Packard’s Digital Copy Accessory • Part Spotlight: HP LaserJet 2200 Maintenance Kit • Tech Tip: HP Color LaserJet 3500/3550/3700: A New Concept in Laser/Scanners

COMPANY HP LASERJET 4200/4300 ONLINE TRAINING COURSE RELEASED The list of Parts Now! Online Training courses—which includes the HP LaserJet 4000/4050/4100 and the HP LaserJet 5Si/8000/8100/8150—continues to grow with the announcement of the new HP LaserJet 4200/4300 course! Online Training from Parts Now! is the same quality instruction that our Director of Training Steve Geishirt gives in his hands-on classes, but from the comfort of your computer. There's no risk in trying out online training, because our intro course doesn't cost anything! You SALES SPOTLIGHT: TIM RITSCHARD Tim, a Parts Now! account representative for five and a half years, sat down with Service Today to talk about his sales philosophy, what Parts Now! has to offer, and why he could never star in an infomercial. Service Today: What makes working at Parts Now! unique? Tim Ritschard: We’re working in a niche market with the laser printer parts industry. I’m able to have a direct impact on what happens with our customers, and in turn what they can provide for their customers. When they have success, we have success, so I’m a firm believer in making my customer’s life as easy as possible. ST: What is your sales philosophy? TR: I’m not one of those “it slices, it dices” salespeople that will sell you something you don’t need. I want to make sure my customers need and can use what I’m selling. ST: What is your favorite part of coming to work every day?

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can take the first section of our basic course, Image Formation for HP Printers, for free. If you like that, we'll let you take the other four sections for free also—all you have to do is contact your account representative. We’ll take it from there! Ready to take advantage of your free trial? Then visit http://videotraining.partsnow.com and click on the 'Free Trial' link. You'll also find more information, including pricing and course descriptions. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call your account representative at (800) 886-6688 or email us at [email protected]. ■ TR: Definitely building relationships with customers, being able to talk to them to see how their businesses are run and solving problems that they have. ST: Why should your customers buy printer parts from you? TR: My customers know they are getting a reliable and hardworking account rep who is always going to do his best for them. They are going to get a fair shake on price and great service. They know they can utilize our online website and our tech support, which I’ve got a lot of compliments on. Some techs run into issues they’ve never run into before, and our tech support has, so they can help them out. ST: Outside of work, what is something that most people don’t know about you? TR: I guess some people don’t know that my wife and I hiked the Grand Canyon. We have a Boxer. I also enjoy playing basketball and golf, and I must like running since I’ve run several marathons (editor’s note – Tim is being humble, as he finished his first marathon in an impressive three hours and eighteen minutes).

PRODUCT PART SPOTLIGHT: HP LASERJET 2200 MAINTENANCE KIT If you’re repairing printers, you have to have the ability to adapt with this ever-changing industry. New models seem to be introduced monthly, increasing the amount of knowledge you need just to survive. Sometimes even simple things like the contents of maintenance kits change—something that recently happened with the HP LaserJet 2200 maintenance kit (part number H397860001). This kit, whose new contents are shown in Figure 1, has always included a tray 1 pickup roller and separation pad. In addition, it has historically included two pickup rollers and two separation pads intended for tray 2, as well as optional tray 3. However, HP is now including only one roller and one separation pad, meant for tray 2. Fortunately, most of the time you will not have to replace the roller and pad in both tray 2 and tray 3. First of all, not all LJ 2200 printers will have optional tray 3, and for those that do, it is unlikely that tray 2 and 3 are used equally. For the tray that is used least often, you can simply replace the pickup roller (part number RB2-6304) and the separation pad (RB2-6349) if the tray has problems

Figure 1 - The contents of the HP LaserJet 2200 maintenance kit (H397860001): • Fusing Assembly, RG5-5559 • Transfer Roller Assembly, RG5-5581 • Tray 1 Pickup Roller, RB2-2900 • Tray 1 Separation Pad, RF5-3272

HEADQUARTERS:

• Tray 2 Pickup Roller, RB2-6304

3517 W. Beltline Hwy.

• Tray 2 Separation Pad, RB2-6349

Madison, WI 53713 (608) 276-8688 (800) 886-6688

picking up paper.

FAX (608) 276-9593

The moral of the story? Don’t get caught off guard when ordering this popular maintenance kit. Make sure you have some extra pickup rollers and separation pads on hand, in case you need to replace them in both trays. You might just save yourself another trip to your customer! ■

FLORIDA OFFICE: 1901 W. Cypress Creek Road Suite 404 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 (800) 886-6688 FAX (954) 983-7256 URL

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CLEANING HEWLETT-PACKARD’S DIGITAL COPY ACCESSORY New questions continue to arise concerning print quality issues with HP’s digital copy accessory for their LaserJet 8100 series of printers. Many printer technicians get a little nervous about servicing this unit because they are used to servicing printers and not what they are calling “copy machines.” First of all, this is not a “copy machine.” It is, however, a “copy attachment accessory,” and their nervousness is somewhat justified. However, with a little knowledge and thought—and the service manual—there truly is nothing to be nervous about. A Clean Mirror Leads to Clean Copies One of the biggest problems that we have seen to date isn’t component failure, but is simply the cleaning of these units and their mirrors. An example of this problem was with the first one I had to deal with. I took it apart and cleaned everything, including the mirrors, but it still produced poor copy quality. Upon further examination and disassembly, I realized that not only had I missed a mirror, but also didn’t clean the lens that was full of dust. This was easy to Figure 1 overlook, which com-

pelled me to write this article about the disassembly and cleaning of these items—an article that will hopefully save you time when dealing with this unit. We will also talk about the do’s and don’ts with disassembling this unit, which should not be attempted without the service manual. First, we must understand how important having clean mirrors and lenses is. If the mirrors are dust covered, the machine may transfer dust particles that have accumulated on the various mirrors to the paper, resulting in a grey background or spots of grey on the copies. This image defect can be avoided by cleaning the mirrors, but be careful, as the mirrors are not available for purchase. If you happen to break one during disassembly, the whole upper or lower optical units would have to be replaced—and these units are not inexpensive!

Disassembly Tips As important as knowing what to do during disassembly is what not to do during disassembly. It is extremely important to use caution while removing and then reinstalling mirrors, as they are mounted and aimed specifically at the lens that focuses light into the CCD (charge coupled device). The CCD analyzes the light and converts it into electrical impulses, and should not be removed (Figure 1). Another thing to look out for is the PCA (printed cirFigure 2 cuit assembly), which is mounted on the optical unit with concentric cams that are set at the factory. If it is removed, it will be virtually impossible to realign. Instead, clean the lens behind the PCA with a cotton swab. This is a good rule to follow in general: if you can clean a mirror with a cotton swab instead of removing it, the swab is always preferred. Only remove the necessary mirrors—two of them will have to be removed to access the others. Prior to removing any of the mirrors, make note of any bevels cut along the edges that any of the mirrors may have. These bevels are there to allow the mirrors to fit correctly. The last item to be removed is the focusing frame (Figure 2), which is adjustable—so mark its placement before removing it. Figure 3 Disassembly Procedure The following is step-by-step instructions for disassembling the copy module. It is recommended that the unit be removed from its home to a more suitable location for disassembly, such as the repair shop. 1. Remove the top flatbed lid by removing one screw (red arrow, Figure 3) and sliding it to the right, out of the holddown pins (blue arrow). 2. Remove the upper ADF cover by removing one screw from the latch button, and two mount screws (Figure 4). 3. Remove the control panel by removing two screws from the bottom (Figure 5a).

Figure 4

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4. Lift the control panel up and disconnect the cable (Figure 5b). 5. Remove the top cover by removing the following: a. Three screws and one cable holder under the control panel (Figure 6). b. Two screws under the ADF cover on the left side of the unit. c. Two screws on the right side. d. Lift off the top cover. 6. Remove the ADF (automatic document feeder) by following these steps:

Figure 5a

a. Remove two screws in the rear (Figure 7a) and partially pull out the main board. b. With the board partially removed, disconnect the ADF cables (figure 7b) and then remove the board with its cage. c. Remove four screws in the front and rear of the ADF (Figure 7c) and lift off. 7. Remove the front side or lower scanner glass assembly by removing two remaining screws on the right side (Figure 8), then lift off the glass with the metal frame. 8. Remove the lower optical unit by following these steps:

Figure 5b

a. Remove one screw on the right side of the metal guide rod and slide out from the left side to remove. b. Lift lower optical unit up from the front and slide drive belt out of Figure 6 holder, then slide optical

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Figure 7a

unit out of rear guide. c. Disconnect ribbon cable. 9. Remove the lower lamp assembly from the optical unit. Do not touch it with your fingers. If the lamp has been touched, clean it with alcohol.

Figure 7b

10. There are five mirrors. Only remove the necessary mirrors. To remove, gently pry each retaining clip at its lock tab to release. 11. Clean the projection lens and each mirror with a cotton swab and a suitable glass cleaner. Reinstall in reverse order. 12. Prior to installing the optical unit back into the base, lubricate the shaft and rear guide with light oil, making sure not to over-lube.

Figure 7c

Once the lower optical unit is reassembled and replaced, turn your attention to the ADF and the backside, or top optical unit. The following is a list of steps to separate the ADF and the top optical unit. 1. Remove the screw and bracket on the front side of the optical unit (Figure 9a). 2. Disconnect two cables to the optical unit (Figure 9b).

Customer quote of the month: “I am very pleased with the quality of service that Michael Davidsaver delivers to my company. He always treats me as if I am the only customer he has. Even though I work for a very small company, I am never made to feel inferior or like I am wasting his time when I place an order. He’s friendly, courteous, knowledgeable and quick to respond to my needs. These attributes, coupled with the great tech support I receive are what has kept me coming back time and time again.” - Steve Martin Columbus, OH

3. Pivot the optical unit on the hinges (Figure 9c) and remove.

Figure 8

4. Once the optical unit is removed, turn over and remove lamp by

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Figure 9a

Figure 9b

Figure 9c

removing two screws and disconnecting one cable. Do not touch the lamp itself. If the lamp has been touched, clean it with alcohol. 5. There are five mirrors. Only remove the necessary mirrors. To remove, gently pry each retaining clip at its lock tab to release. 6. Clean the projection lens and each mirror with a cotton swab and a suitable glass cleaner. Reinstall in reverse order. Following reassembly, the unit must be calibrated with a target calibration sheet (part number PA03002C261FJ). If this item is not available, it can be made. It is basically an A3 size sheet of white paper with a .4 inch (10mm) black border around the edge. A3 size is 16.5 inches by 11.7 inches (420mm x 297mm). The calibrations that must be done are in the “Service

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Mode” of the unit, which can be accessed by holding down the “Reset,” “1,” and “0” keys while turning the copy module on. Release the keys when the first check comes up on the display. The “Offset Adjustment Calibration” should be performed using the target calibration sheet on all three scanners: flatbed, ADF front and ADF rear. Then the “Density Calibration” should also be performed on all three using the target calibration sheet. If the PCA boards were not removed and the unit displays an “Optical error” after reassembly, check to see if the lamps—upper or lower—are lighting. If the applicable lamp lights and then the error displays, it means that the CCD does not see the light. Unless the CCD PCA is bad—which would be rare—one of the mirrors is out of position. Recheck the mirror installation. A bad CCD PCA would require replacement of the applicable optical unit. Maintaining the copy attachment can be tricky, but nonetheless important. Do you clean your eyeglasses when they are dirty? Yes you do! So, if the copy attachment can’t see documents very well when its glasses are dirty, they need to be cleaned as well. If the precautions are used as mentioned, this maintenance can be done without a problem. ■ —Bill Voelker Mr. Voelker has been a Parts Now! trainer for over five years, training both Parts Now! customers and internal staff on the latest in printer repair techniques and technologies.

TECH TIP OF THE MONTH HP COLOR LASERJET 3500/3550/3700: A NEW CONCEPT IN LASER/SCANNERS All laser printers use the same general method of putting print on the page: after a photo-sensitive drum is uniformly charged with high voltage, portions of the charge on the drum’s surface are altered by a laser beam. Toner is deposited on the altered areas, and a transfer element pulls the toner off the drum and onto the paper. Finally, the paper goes through a fuser or fixing unit, which uses a combination of heat and pressure to fuse the toner to the paper. This process is fairly straightforward in a monochrome printer. In a color printer, it gets more complicated since there are four colors of toner—typically black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. This allows for several variations in the basic process, two of which HP has used in most of their color laser printers: Method 1 – The Toner Carousel: There are four toner cartridges, but only one PC drum, which is separate from the cartridges, as well as one laser/scanner. The four cartridges are mounted in a carousel, which rotates them past the single drum, one at a time. This method is used in the CLJ 4500/4550, 8500/8550, and 1500/2500/2550 printers. The disadvantage of this method, aside from mechanical complexity, is that there are basically four print cycles for each printed page, as the drum has to go through a complete cycle for each of the four colors. This slows down the printing process and shortens the life of the drum.

Figure 1 - Rear view of laser/scanner unit with cover removed.

Method 2 – In-Line Printing: In this method, each toner cartridge has its own built-in drum, similar to most monochrome printers. The cartridges are mounted in-line—all in a row— instead of in a carousel, and the paper moves past each cartridge in one pass. This is faster and mechanically simpler, but has the disadvantage that four separate laser/scanners are Figure 2 - Close-up of one half of needed. This system is used in the CLJ 4600/4650, 5500/5550, laser/scanner unit showing paths of laser and 9500 printer models. beams (red arrows). CLJ 3500 LASER SCANNER, continued on page 10

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CLJ 3500 LASER SCANNER, continued from page 9

The CLJ 3500/3550/3700 models basically use Method 2, but you will look in vain for the four laser/scanners. In these models, there is only one laser/scanner unit (part number RM1-1480), but if you look inside of it, you will see that it’s almost four scanners in one. Though it has four laser diodes and four sets of optics, in some ways it is simpler—as it has only two motors (Figures 1 and 2).

Jason Jensen VP of Marketing & Strategy

Matt Barnum Editor

Steve Geishirt Dennis Kosterman Bill Voelker Contributing Writers SERVICE TODAY is a Parts Now! publication with a mission to serve as a technical resource for printer repair technicians. Please direct all correspondence concerning content, submissions, or circulation of Service Today or any comments to [email protected].

©2005 Parts Now! LLC

The same square rotating mirror simultaneously scans two different laser beams through two different sets of optics. The optics further route the beams to the appropriate toner cartridges. The same process happens in the other half of the scanner unit, so you still get four laser beams—one for each color—but it’s done more economically. The practical application of all this is that when you get a 41 or 51 error in one of these printers, you no longer have to worry about which laser/scanner is bad. You simply replace the laser/scanner unit—just like in the old monochrome printers—and all possibilities are covered. Replacement and alignment of the laser/scanner is also much simpler, and if you’ve ever worked on a CLJ 4600 or 5500, you know that the same procedure on those printers was anything but simple! This laser/scanner unit is more complex than any single scanner from the 4600 or 5500, but the advantages of combining the four scanners into one package are worth it. —Denny Kosterman The following students successfully completed Parts Now! hands!on training courses in April: Glenn Good

Scott Hays

Heather Hudson

Jim Stinebaugh

HP LJ 4000/4050/4100 HP LJ 42xx/43xx

HP LJ 5Si/8000/81xx HP LJ 4000/4050/4100 HP LJ 42xx/43xx HP CLJ 4600/5500

HP LJ 5Si/8000/81xx HP LJ 4000/4050/4100 HP LJ 42xx/43xx HP CLJ 4600/5500

HP LJ 5Si/8000/81xx HP LJ 4000/4050/4100 HP LJ 42xx/43xx HP CLJ 4600/5500

The following students students successfully completed Parts Now! Online Training courses in April: Image Formation for HP Printers Joel Bernabe Alex Carstens Michael Clark Rolita Galyen

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Rick Holm Jeff Redding Ron Rickett

HP LJ 4000/4050/4100

HP LJ 5Si/8000/81xx

Pete Morgan

Travis Lansdowne

SALES STAFF MANAGEMENT

ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVES

Thad Bainbridge

Bill Bohne

Jim Breedlove

Noah Canas

Dan Cassidy

Alex Colton

Doug Damon

Michael Davidsaver

Tom DePrey

Roy Divine

Ext. 1269

Ext. 1223

Ext. 1179

Ext. 1302

Ext. 1113

Ext. 1257

Ext. 1140

Ext. 1272

Ext. 1256

Ext. 1166

Jay Spaanem President & CEO

James Evans

John Feldman

Barney Gugel

Darrel Hayner

Brad Janusiak

Christopher Kearney

Tim Kohl

Julie Krauth

Joe Lalley

Aaron Le Hew

Ext. 1262

Ext. 1237

Ext. 1180

Ext. 1304

Ext. 1248

Ext. 1105

Ext. 1117

Ext. 1122

Ext. 1162

Ext. 1173

Kevin D. Guy VP of Sales and Marketing

Rick Maharajh

Dave Martin

Brent Molldrem

Randy Motl

Larry Riedl

Tim Ritschard

Leo Rodriguez

Kyle Rudolph

Randy Rueth

Fabian Ruiz

Ext. 1309

Ext. 1322

Ext. 1268

Ext. 1116

Ext. 1288

Ext. 1147

Ext. 1315

Ext. 1170

Ext. 1130

Ext. 1314

Wayne Tougas Director-Southeast Branch Andy Schuth

Paul Seibold

Matt Sickler

Terry Sipple

Mike Tilley

Ken Wagner

Dan Wilson

Ext. 1236

Ext. 1145

Ext. 1218

Ext. 1305

Ext. 1142

Ext. 1134

Ext. 1127

CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVES

Donna Banfield

Virgil Grenia

Vito Griseta, Jr.

Jason Kilgore

Colleen Longseth

Robert Sipple

Sarah Yahn

Ext. 1158

Ext. 1182

Ext. 1290

Ext. 1245

Ext. 1149

Ext. 1178

Ext. 1292

CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER

Michael Cox Strategic Accounts Manager

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Lori Porterfield

Clarissa Georgeson

Vito Griseta III

Heidi Satterthwaite

Chee Thao

Dawn Vanderhoof

Candice Young

Ext. 1129

Ext. 1165

Ext. 1259

Ext. 1283

Ext. 1227

Ext. 1118

Ext. 1188

Clark Wilson Sales Manager

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CURRENT TRAINING SCHEDULE

May 2005

June 2005

Monday, May 16th

HP LaserJet 2300/2200/2100

Monday, June 6th

HP LaserJet 8150/8100/8000/5Si

Tuesday, May 17th

HP LaserJet 8150/8100/8000/5Si

Tuesday, June 7th

HP LaserJet 4000/4050/4100

Wednesday, May 18th

HP LaserJet 9000

Wednesday, June 8th

HP LaserJet 42xx/43xx

Thursday, May 19th

HP Color LaserJet 4500/4550 Day 1

Thursday, June 9th

HP Color LaserJet 4600/5500 Day 1

Friday, May 20th

HP Color LaserJet 4500/4550 Day 2

Friday, June 10th

HP Color LaserJet 4600/5500 Day 2

May and June training will be held at our Madison, WI training facility. Further information on course details, area hotels, and directions to the training site can be found at www.partsnow.com in the Technical Resources section or by calling (800) 886-6688.

ONLINE TRAINING IS NOW AVAILABLE, AND FREE TO TRY! Visit http://videotraining.partsnow.com for more details and for your free trial!

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage

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MAY 2005, VOL. 14, NUMBER 4

SERVICE TODAY 3517 W. Beltline Hwy., Madison, WI 53713 (608) 276-8688 • (800) 886-6688 • Fax: (608) 276-9593 FLORIDA OFFICE: (800) 886-6688 • Fax: (954) 938-7256 w w w. p a r t s n o w. c o m

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